Carrick said: "It's unbelievable, with a week gone of the season, that he's gone through what he's gone through. People forget that when he got to the club, it was up and down, good and bad. But since he's been there, there have been two fifth-place finishes. I don't know what more they could have asked for.

"They've spent a bit of money and they're hoping for the top four, but after one week, for that to happen, I was shocked."